I love my Nintendo Switch. Whilst it’s far from being the ‘perfect’ console it’s just so damn versatile, with the massive library of games available for it (old and new, triple A and indie), coupled with what you can do with a hacked unit makes it so appealing. There is something there for everyone.
I’ve had it for probably less than a year now and during that time have accrued a rather unwieldy amount or peripherals and extras for the console – both good and bad – so I thought it would be interesting do a rundown.
So here we go:
Hori Split Pad Pro
It’s great being able to play the switch handheld, but let’s be honest – the Joy Cons kind of suck. There is no real D-pad (so good luck playing fighting games) and the face buttons are kind of small. I mean it’s functional, just not exactly comfortable to hold for any period of time and it’s obvious they designed them with the ‘hey look – you can share one each to play multiplayer games!’ vibe which as far as I know no-one ever really does that shit unless really desperate. There are plenty of alternatives for controllers (more on that later) but a decent handheld option that’s an alternative to the Joy Cons is the Hori Split Pad Pro.
Coinciding with the release of Daemon X Machina this is often branded as being associated with that game. That is if you consider ‘branded’ to mean the ‘X’ button is red. Other than that you wouldn’t know. Anyway, this thing makes your Switch feel huge in handheld. Each half of the controller is seriously chunky, about double the width and depth of a Joy Con. As a result they don’t quite fit flush with the screen and honestly it looks dorky as hell. You lose some of the portability and the controllers don’t have any battery in them, which means they don’t work unless attached to your Switch.
On the upside though they are far more comfy to hold than the Joy Cons and the large analogue sticks and buttons feel really nice. The biggest plus for me though is the D-Pad. It’s an actual D-Pad! And one that really works. For me, any D-pad has to pass both the Hadoken and Shoryuken test. If you know you know. ‘Ok’ D-Pads may only be able to crank out Hadokens with a high probability, but a great D-Pad will be able to do both with ease. This one does both.
For this reason alone Split Pad Pro is worth getting in my opinion. It is hands down the best ‘official’ Nintendo controller D-Pad. If you’re not bothered about such things then you probably don’t need this but if you are going to play a lot of Switch in handheld mode this is a must.
Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (Custom shell)
In terms of Official Nintendo Switch controllers this one is the premium option. And by premium I mean you have to pay an unreasonable amount of coin just to get one of these. Want to spend even more money like an idiot? Get one with a custom shell like I did because y’know – purple!
Having said that this is a very nice controller that I only have one gripe with…. Again the bloody D-pad! It’s okay I guess, but in terms of the Hadoken/Shoryuken test I would say only 50/50. Not worth it for fighting games, great for almost anything else. How Nintendo have so badly missed the mark with this is anyone’s guess. It’s now become a spare controller for multiplayer sessions as there are better (and certainly cheaper) alternatives out there.
Mayflash Magic-NS
Don’t want to fork out for extra controllers for the Switch? Why not just use those spare Xbox and Playstation controllers you have lying around? With this smart little thing you can do just that. It’s cheap and easy to use and this little buddy comes out whenever we have a multiplayer session or if I ever just feel like I wanna use a PS4 controller to play my Switch games.
It works flawlessly with no lag and great for fighting games - as we know the D-pad on the PS4 pad is excellent. The only downside is that you can only use one of these at time as the way it sticks in the dock means you can only fit one in.
It’s a pretty versatile gizmo too – you can also use it in handheld mode (adapter included), it supports a variety of controllers and apparently you can use it to sync your Switch Pro Pad to use with your laptop if you ever wanted to do that, although in all honesty I have never needed to.
8Bitdo SN30 Pro+
There are however, in my humble opinion, some even better controllers out there. And we hereby present you with the 8Bitdo SN30 Pro+. The ‘+’ just basically adds handles to the souped up SNES controller.
What can I say? It is hands down the best controller I have ever owned. Looks awesome, syncs to Switch without issue, great D-Pad, great layout, comfortable to use – I just can’t fault it in any way. It’s cheaper than and can do everything a Switch Pro can do – except maybe Amiibo support or wake up your console. But who really cares about that. What are you, a child?
This one hasn’t let me down yet. It’s become my default controller to use on the Switch. It’s a USB/Bluetooth controller as well so you can use it on your laptop if you want. I’m considering buying another one in a different colour just for the heck of it – that’s how much I love this controller. If you are only going to buy only one thing on this list this is the one.
So that’s enough in the way of controllers. I actually do have another cheap wired Switch controller that only comes out during multiplayer sessions where we need a fourth controller but I forgot to take a picture of it so sadly cant show it here. Oh well. It does its job.
Hori Switch Compact PlayStand
I bought this fairly early on as it was pretty cheap and occasionally useful. It’s basically just a stand to prop up your switch if you want it undocked but not in your hand, for example to put it on a table or something. I don’t recommend ever using the kickstand on the back of the Switch as that feels so flimsy like it would snap if you sneezed in its general direction.
The PlayStand is sturdy, adjustable and indeed fairly compact when folded down. Good for travelling I guess? I’ve occasionally used it in conjunction with the SN30 Pro+ back before I got the Hori Split Pad as the Joy Cons were just so bad for some games. So it’s good for what it is although situations you would use it in are probably limited.
Flip Grip
Originally crowdfunded – this useful little bit of plastic is only available from the Fangamer website in the US. And really it is only just a bit of plastic that you attach your Joy Cons to. But it allows you to hold your switch upright instead. How useful it is to you really depends on how much you play vertical shooters on the Switch. And maybe pinball games?
Basically it allows you to go from this bullshit:
To this:
Much better! The only downside is you have to use the crappy Joy Cons. But I guess for shooting games it doesn’t matter all that much. If you really want to use any other controller you may as well just prop it up using the Hori Stand, but if you want it handheld then the Flip Grip is a must.
So I guess your mileage will vary on the types of games you play. As well as some Switch games that support a vertical screen mode, I run arcade games in Retroarch (which supports Tate mode) and there are a shedload of vertical shooters on there that really benefit from this.
To be honest I have only used it a handful of times since I got it but it’s relatively cheap and there should I need it and want to play handheld vertical shmups.
Travel Cases
You gotta have a case right? I actually have two. The black one is made by Orzly and is the one that came with my Switch. It’s decent, and has lots of room for various other smaller peripherals to fit in there.
If you are feeling a bit fruitier you can go for the galaxy print one (made by Fintie) which I bought in order to keep my second Switch in (yes, I bought another Switch as a backup – god help me). It’s not got as much room as the Orzly but it does look nicer.
They are decent cases. Nowt much else to say, really.
Next!
Custom Joy Cons
In a fit of madness I bought these from Etsy for probably too much. They look nice (beautiful SNES stylings) and are made of a weird soft touch material. I needed a pair of Joy Cons for my second Switch so mainly went for these because of the D-Pad.
Unfortunately it isn’t great as it still just has the four separate buttons underneath like a regular Joy Con, just replaced with a D-Pad on top. Dependable Hadokens and Shoryukens? Forget it.
Other than that they are just Joy Cons, you know? Just better looking ones.
Custom Backplate
Disclosure: as cool as this looks I never actually put this on. The replacement job itself seems simple enough, it’s just that for some reason Nintendo likes to use really shitty screws on the Switch that strip really easy.
Some screwdrivers are provided with the backplate but they are cheap and I wouldn’t recommend using them. The internet has dozens of horror stories of people attempting to customise their backplates and Joy Cons and stripping all their screws. The custom backplate was pretty cheap so I thought I would give it a go anyway. One screw started to undo but the next one started to strip straight away so I immediately stopped and abandoned the project.
Therefore I would not recommend you attempting to take apart your Switch or Joy Cons unless you have the proper tools. Even then this doesn’t guarantee you won’t strip the screws. If that happens you will never be able to open your Switch again (for example if you ever need to get it fixed or replace the battery). Best leave it to the professionals, I say. Same for fixing or customising Joy Cons. You can buy them already customised as I did or send in your own to get them customised by someone else, which is a much safer option.
It’s all because of Nintendo’s damn cheap screws. Or maybe they did it on purpose to stop people from modding their consoles. Either way, it’s really annoying.
Ring Fit Ring-Con (3rd Party)
This is actually a third party Ring-Con as opposed to the official Nintendo one but works just as well (as far as I am aware). We have been playing Ring-Fit Adventure semi-regularly over the last few months in our house and this has more than done the job.
For those of you that don’t know, Ring-Fit Adventure is a fitness themed game with light RPG elements where you progress through the story whilst jogging, squatting and stretching as well as pushing and pulling the Ring-Con in a variety of resistance-based exercises. It’s surprisingly effective and we have more than got our money’s worth with this peripheral.
It remains to be seen whether or not any other games will utilise the Ring-Con in the future but even if there isn’t there is more than enough content in Ring-Fit alone to justify getting this. After all, as long as you are still exercising you can make use of this in some form or another.
Taiko Drum (3rd Party)
Now it’s just getting silly. Don’t bother – it’s a nightmare trying to sync this up to the TV. It seems okay if you are using handheld mode and headphones but then where’s the fun in that?
Conclusion
The conclusion is… I’ve spent far too much on Switch peripherals. Some are worth the price – others… not so much. I guess much of it depends on your personal circumstances and what you will be using the system for.
Come to think of it there are one or two more things that I forgot to include in this: that other third party wired controller, screen protectors, high quality USB-C cables, large capacity SD cards, RCM jig and payload injector for custom firmware… oh no…! My Switch problem is far worse than I initially thought!
Help meeeeee!
4th Aug 2020
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